Eventually, my pulse slows, syncing with his calmer heartbeat. But just as I’m regaining control, another wave of hunger crashes through me, hot and sharp, my body shaking as it threatens to drag me back under.
“You’re stronger than this, Zoey.” Aerix presses his forehead against mine, his lips so close I can feel the barest brush of them as he speaks. “Feel my heartbeat. Follow its rhythm. Remember who you are—whoweare.”
I cling to the sensation of Aerix’s hand against my cheek, his thumb tracing circles against my skin. Slowly, the storminside me quiets, the bloodlust receding enough for reason to resurface. And when I swallow again, my throat no longer burns with that clawing need formore.
Now, a different sort of panic squeezes my chest.
My gaze drifts to Laura, who’s lying motionless on the floor. “Is she…”
“She’s alive,” he says quietly. “You didn’t fail. You didn’t kill her.”
Tears spring to my eyes, leaving hot trails down my cheeks as I realize how close I was to destroying everything. Along with them, there’sshame.A deep-rooted shame that floods me to my bones.
“I wanted to,” I admit. “I still want to.”
He shudders with barely contained desire. “I know. It’s natural. It’s what I made you, and your hunger—yourferocity—makes you more beautiful than ever.” His thumb brushes across my frozen cheek, wiping away the tears, regret splashed across his perfect features. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I never want to hurt you. But I had to use my magic to bring you back. You were losing yourself, and I couldn’t let that happen. You understand, don’t you, Zoey? Tell me you understand.”
His eyes search mine, pleading for forgiveness for nearly turning me into an ice sculpture to stop me from murdering the first human I could get my fangs on, his fingers trembling against my skin.
“I understand.” The moment the words escape my lips, the tension in his body dissolves, the panic in his eyes replaced with overwhelming relief. And as his ice melts, my bloodlust fades. It’s still there—an ache at the edges of my awareness—but it’s no longer the all-consuming fire it was moments ago.
“Aerix,” I say softly, needing to ask, even though I already know the answer. “Were you supposed to help me like that?”
He hesitates, the brief tightening around his eyes giving him away.
“You were supposed to either sink or swim on your own,” he admits, the intensity in his gaze tugging at the knot of emotions in my chest. “But your soul and mine are one now. And I swear to you, Zoey, that I will never let you drown.”
I barely have time to process his words before his lips are on mine, and I’m kissing him back like I need him more than I need blood. It’s a wild, desperate kiss, fierce and possessive, as though he’s trying to imprint himself onto every part of me.
When he pulls away and shifts his attention to Laura, who’s unconscious and crumpled against the wall, I whimper at the loss.
Without a word, he rises and moves toward her. Picking her up effortlessly, he strides to the door, opening it enough to reveal a guard waiting on the other side.
“Take her,” he commands, cold and indifferent.
And as I look at Laura, I feel cold and indifferent, too. I picked her because she looks like Sapphire… but now, my human life feels like it existed so long ago that whatever I used to feel for my best friend is nothing more than a distant memory.
ZOEY
The guard nods once,takes Laura, and Aerix closes the door, locking it with a decisive click and turning to face me. Something dark and hungry burns in his eyes—something that makes my newly enhanced senses sing as he stalks toward me with predatory grace.
“We’re finally alone,” he murmurs, kneeling beside me and tracing a finger along my jaw. “Now—tell me how you feel.”
My heart races at his touch, every nerve ending on fire as I somehow focus enough to consider his question.
“I feel stronger. Like I could tear down walls with my bare hands. And my senses…” I close my eyes, breathing in his scent. “I can hear your heartbeat. I can smell the winter on your skin. Everything is so much moreintense.”
“And the hunger?”
“Still there. But manageable. Like background noise instead of a scream.”
“It will always be there. The chaos, the overwhelming need. But also the power—the intoxicating rush of becoming something more than human.” He leans in, his eyes glitteringdangerously, his voice low and velvet-edged. “But the hunger you feel right now… is it for blood, or for something else?”
My heart slams as his words register. “Definitely something else,” I say, and then his mouth claims mine again, fierce and possessive, and I moan softly against his lips as my hands slide up into his hair. With my enhanced senses, every kiss, every touch, and every breath is magnified until it feels almost unbearable. I’m barely aware of him picking me up and carrying me over to the bed until the silk sheets are against my back, his weight pressing me deeper into the mattress.
He pulls back for a moment, his eyes drinking me in as his gaze trails down my body.
“What?” I whisper, suddenly self-conscious beneath his intense stare.
